Page 49 of Blood Moon Heat

The prime grabbed my jaw. “You do not speak,” he hissed, giving my head a rough shake before his gaze lifted. “Brothers, feast.”

The ancient males all lurched forward, one by one, latching on to me with their long yellowed fangs, sinking them deep into my flesh. Pain lashed through me instantly, so horrific that no sound left me when I opened my mouth to scream. My body bowed on the table, suspended, locked in agony. The prime jerked my head to the side, and he sunk his fangs into my throat.

A scream burst from me then, forced from deep inside me, raw and guttural, like a tortured animal.

They chose to make me scream in agony rather than pleasure. When a vampire fed, it was their choice, and every male at this table had chosen pain.

But as excruciating as this was, I was glad of it. Being forced to feel pleasure during this would have been far more horrific. I would rather this feeling of being torn apart than the alternative.

My stomach heaved, and I lost control of my body, vomiting on the table as my bladder released, both pooling beneath me.

The five ancient vampires seemed to get even more excited by it, their fangs tearing from my flesh only to sink in again, deep into my thighs, my waist, my breasts.

The warmth seeped from my limbs, and they grew heavy, pins and needles starting at the tips of my fingers and toes. Swirling darkness creeped in from the corners of my eyes as I struggled to keep them open.

Let go. Stop fighting it.

The sooner I let the darkness take me, the sooner this would be over.

Sixteen

Nero

My knees almost fucking buckled under me from a wave of emotion smashing into me. Mina. It was coming to me through our blood bond. I’d never felt it like this before. I’d purposely closed myself off to it, but I felt it now like I was being battered by a raging storm.

My female was suffering. She was in unbearable agony.

The monster inside me roared louder, bursting to the surface. I was going to kill them all. I was going to tear them to shreds and watch as they bled out at my feet.

The bond was strengthening with every passing moment. It was as if Mina were tugging on it, as if she were calling out to me.

I’m coming, Lalka. Hang on. Please, hang on a little longer.

I knew where I needed to go before I hit the city. Instead of going to the prime’s apartment, I stayed on the outskirts of Roxburgh, heading toward his weekend house. It would take half an hour by car. I could halve that on foot, but I still might not be fast enough to get to her in time.

I focused on the pull and flex of my muscles as I dug deeper, pushing harder, forcing myself to run at speeds I’d never reached in my life, until the huge mansion finally loomed ahead.

I snarled, and the sound, the feeling, was like lightning cracking deep inside me. It exploded from my gut, heat searing through my veins and throbbing in my chest.

I’m almost there, Lalka.

Two of the prime’s guards ran at me as I approached. I pulled my knife free, buried it in the chest of the one closest, then slashed the blade down his front, spilling his insides, then spun to the second male and used my fangs to tear out his throat, barely slowing my stride.

No one and nothing would stop me from getting to Mina.

Kicking in the door, I hacked through the two guards standing there and let the connection to my little doll lead me. The prime didn’t need a heavy guard, not in the house, because no one challenged the elders and the twisted things they did. The prime was used to doing whatever the fuck he liked and getting away with it.

He did what he wanted. He took whatever the fuck he wanted.

Not anymore.

He would pay the price for breaking our laws just like everyone else.

I rounded the corner at the end of a hall, and Gretchen, one of the prime’s servants, stood at a door with another guard. The female was silently crying, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

The male beside her stepped forward when he saw me, pulling his weapon. I knocked it from his hand and wrenched his head from his body. Gretchen cowered, trembling, but made no sound. She jerked back as I grabbed and lifted her out of the way. “Leave and don’t come back,” I growled.

She immediately spun and sprinted away.

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